10 Warnings For Dating A Girl Who Travels

1. She’ll always be planning something. Whether it’s a backpacking trip across India or a weekend trip on the beach for two, her mind will always be on the next destination, the next adventure, the next escape. Sometimes she’ll want you to come and other times she’ll want to be completely on her own. Her dreams are made up of foreign landscapes and unknown cities.

2. You’ll think it’s hard to get close to her. Sometimes it will seem like the only thing she talks about is leaving. She wants to leave, yes, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to come back. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t want a base to lay her things or an address to call home. Her home is within the love she shares with the people in her life. She wants to fall in love, to build a relationship, to share a life with someone. All she wants is the freedom to explore the world when she has the chance (and that you’ll share that open-mindedness and curiosity about the world as well).

3. She might have a hard time letting you in. So, even though she wants that euphoric experience of falling in love it can be hard for her to go from being solely independent and single to dating someone and realizing she can actually count on them to help her out and be there for her. When you travel you change, you adapt, you grow, and within this process you come out a stronger person and sometimes you just become a bit stuck in your ways when you’ve been on your own for so long. Give it time.

4.  She can be seemingly stubborn at times (because she knows who she is). When we travel we often find ourselves and discover deeper insight and perspective into our lives and who we are. A girl who travels is sure of herself and her abilities. (But this doesn’t mean you can’t totally call her out when she’s wrong).

5. If you’re afraid of leaving the country, it’s probably not going to work with her. Less than 40% of Americans have passports so it’s not a huge surprise if you haven’t left the country before  but if you have no interest in exploring a different city or country – ever – she simply won’t be able to understand you. She wants someone she can dream with, someone she can explore the world with, and if your fear overrides your interest of experiencing foreign travel the relationship likely won’t work out.

6. And if you’re culturally closed-minded, again, it’s not going to work. A girl who travels thrives on immersing herself in other cultures, learning foreign languages, trying strange and exciting new foods, learning the customs of other people. Does this mean you have to share the exact same interests? No, of course not. But if you’re the type who isn’t open to new experiences and shut her down when she talks about a place you don’t know very much about you two aren’t going to be compatible.

7. She’s not going to be the kind of girl who wants a traditional lifestyle. A girl who makes travel a priority is usually not the kind of girl seeking a traditional lifestyle. She’s not so much interested in “settling down” as she is with just finding someone she’s compatible with to spend her life with. If marriage and kids eventually comes with that, then great, but she’s never going to be the kind of girl who wants to live in the suburbs living a traditional life.

8. She’s going to need you to be a source of strength when she arrives back from a solo trip. Reverse culture shock can be a short time period that follows arriving back in one’s home country after traveling abroad. When you’ve just spent so much time in a land where everything seems new and exciting, different and challenging, it can be hard to come back to your normal life and routine. It usually only lasts a short time but a girl who travels needs her significant other to understand this bit of melancholy doesn’t have anything to do with them.

9. You’re going to need to be an independent person who’s okay with spending time alone. If you’re the sort of person who needs to be with their SO 24/7 outside of work/school you’re going to have a hard time dating a girl with her own independent tendencies. She sees her relationships as a place of comfort where both people have their own lives and come together to create a great partnership. She needs you to be secure with yourself and your relationship.

10. She won’t be able to hide her disappointment if you aren’t up for one of her crazy adventures. To a girl who travels, spontaneity is what life is all about. Like I said, she’s always planning something, and when it comes to the person she’s dating she wants to include them in on her escapades. If she plans a surprise getaway to the beach when she knows you have some time off of work she’s going to be super bummed if you can’t match her excitement. She wants someone to dream with and who shares her sense of adventure.